Media.net: What It Is and Why We Block Its Trackers
Learn about media.net, a contextual ad network, its data collection, and why privacy tools block it.
Drafted by automation from the sources listed at the end of this page, and reviewed before publishing. The sources are the part that matters: check them.
What is media.net?
Media.net is a domain associated with a contextual advertising network, operated by the company of the same name. Founded in 2010 by Indian entrepreneur Divyank Turakhia, the company grew quickly, becoming one of the largest contextual ad networks in the world. In 2016, it was acquired by a Chinese consortium, Miteno Communication Technology (also known as Shuzhi.AI), for US$900 million. Today, the company is headquartered in New York with its global headquarters in Dubai, and has over 800 employees across North America, Asia, and Europe.
Who operates the domain?
The media.net domain is operated by Media.net, an advertising technology company. In October 2018, Divyank Turakhia moved to an advisory role, and Vaibhav Arya became CEO. The company is actively involved in industry initiatives, such as the IAB Tech Lab, where its Senior Vice President of Business Operations, Karan Dalal, serves on the board of directors since June 2020. In April 2022, Media.net partnered with NewsGuard to help brands advertise responsibly on news websites, reinforcing its commitment to brand safety.
What does media.net do with browsing data?
As a contextual advertising network, media.net collects and processes browsing data to display relevant ads. The company claims that its technology analyzes page content in real time to serve ads that match the context, without relying on extensive individual profiles. However, for contextual advertising to work effectively, media.net still tracks user behavior across different sites, including pages visited, time spent, clicks, and other interactions. This data is used to target ads and may be shared with advertisers and partners in some cases.
Media.net’s privacy policy, available on its official website, describes the types of data collected, such as cookies, IP addresses, browser type, and device information. The company may also use mobile advertising identifiers and other tracking technologies for measurement and fraud prevention. Although the company states that it does not collect directly identifiable personal information (like name or email), the combination of data can make users identifiable. Therefore, privacy tools often classify media.net as a third-party tracker.
Why do privacy tools block media.net?
Ad blockers and privacy extensions block the media.net domain for several reasons:
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Cross-site tracking: Media.net uses cookies and other mechanisms to track users across different websites, which can violate privacy expectations.
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Data collection without clear consent: Although the company offers opt-out options, many users are unaware that their data is being collected. Privacy tools aim to give users control by blocking domains known for such practices.
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Association with advertising networks: Advertising itself is not malicious, but the extensive tracking associated with it is viewed as intrusive.
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Controversial acquisition history: The purchase by a Chinese consortium raised concerns about data governance and potential access by foreign governments, although the company asserts that it operates in compliance with data protection laws.
It is important to note that DNS-based blocking, common in tools like AdGuard Home, does not remove ads served from the same domain as the content. For example, if a site serves ads directly from its own domain, blocking media.net will not remove them. Additionally, DNS blocking does not hide your IP address from the site you visit, nor does it prevent the site from collecting data via other domains. In some cases, blocking can break the functionality of apps that rely on ads for revenue, such as free apps displaying advertisements.
Final considerations
Media.net is a domain used by a legitimate contextual advertising network, but it collects browsing data to personalize ads. For users concerned about privacy, blocking this domain can reduce tracking, but it is important to understand the limits of such blocking. Tools like AdGuard Home can block media.net, but they do not eliminate all ads nor fully protect your privacy. For a more comprehensive approach, it is recommended to combine tracker blocking, privacy-focused browsers, and specific extensions, always remembering to check the privacy settings of each site and app.